There are a number of reasons you can have a flywheel issue and without more details I can only guess.
The flywheel has a toothed ring on it which the starter uses to start the car.
This can either wear on some teeth or become loose on the flywheel.
If the car is an automatic the torque converter can leak which is all attached to the flywheel.
If it is a manual the flywheel can either be scored or more likely it is a dual mass flywheel that needs replacing. See http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/i...
I'll try to clear-up the confusion - hope I don't make it worse. A flywheel's weight creates momentum which helps to cancel-out firing impulses of an internal combustion engine: makes the engine run more smoothly. Gas engines had flywheels before they had starters . . . many steam engines had flywheels. When car self-starters were developed, the format eventually adopted by all makes was to put gear teeth around the outside edge of the flywheel - the starter has a drive gear that engages in those teeth.
Most automatic transmissions have a torque converter - essentially a turbine pump. The turbine pump is attached to the flywheel . . . since it provides enough weight, the flywheel can be made much lighter and is called a flexplate. In effect the flexplate with torque converter are the flywheel.
Both heavy flywheels and light flexplates are shot if the gear teeth for the starter around the edge are damaged. A manual transmission flywheel is damaged when "scored" by clutch action or clutch failure . . . . a flexplate - as the name implies - is thin enough to flex and sometimes fail from metal fatigue.
With a car with an automatic transmission it is called a flexplate. The torque converter is bolted to that. The problem to be solved is what? You didn't say what the problem was, so the only advice here is semantics. They call the thing between the engine and the transmission is called a ________. Hah, there are a few things in that area. If it has a ring gear on it and the torque converter is bolted to it it is a flexplate, but if you call it a flywheel, the confusion will be very slight until you buy a flywheel at the salvage yard and try and make it work with the transmission you have. Your car has an manual or automatic transmission and which one it has determines the name and function of the part they say is bad. Is that part really bad? Replace the starter if you want to play it cheap. That'll get you by for a month or few.
Thanks everyone. Sorry I meant to mention the first guy told me that automatics do not have flywheels they have flex plates. The 2nd guy told me my flywheel may be bad. So how do I know if I need a flywheel or a flex plate? My car did make this sound every time I turned it on and off. Finally I was driving the rpms went up and I pressed on the gas and the mph, would not go up. And then the car completely shut off on me. Now when I turn the ignition switch the starter does not engage and it just spins. How do I know which part it has. The flywheel or flex plate ?
A flywheel is an essential item in a car engine. It may take different forms in an auto compared with a manual but there is always a flywheel. As said, the 2nd guy has a brain whereas the 1st one hasn't.
It has no flywheel but it has a piece which does the same thing. Especially, it has teeth which engage with the starter, probably what is wrong. The job is the same either way, although the flywheel would need turning while the automatic part does not. It is just a metal disk with holes in it. It bolts to the torque converter and it bolts to the crankshaft. Either way you must get between the engine and the transmission, removing one or the other.
With an automatic transmission, the flywheel is replaced with a flexplate. Some people (like shop #2) will use the terms interchangeably. That's how this confusion came about.
Yes, it has a flywheel, sometimes called a flex plate in an automatic. The reason the P.O. told you it was bad, was likely because the teeth that mate with the starter are bad and it will grind sometimes when you try to start. If this is the case, then the flywheel (flex plate) will have to be replaced.and that means the transmission will have to come out.
The flywheel is the key part of your cars transmission system. When the clutch is not being pressed, the clutch disc remains in contact with the flywheel, meaning that the engine is attached to the transmission input shaft.
Upon the pedal being pressed, the clutch disengages from the engine and thus the transmission system is no longer in operation. The flywheel utilises friction against the clutch plate to decide the amount of force that the clutch is capable of handling. If the flywheel cracks, becomes worn or gets contaminated with oil then this friction is diminished and this leads to the gears slipping. When you feel this beginning to happen, then it’s a clear sign that your flywheel is ailing and needs to be replaced.
As stated by others, cars with automatic transmissions have flex-plates and cars with manual transmissions have flywheels. They are exactly the same, except different. Kind of like someone saying a car needs front shocks, when the 'proper' term would be front "struts". Again shocks/struts are exactly the same, except different. If you told me an automatic needed a flywheel, or that a car with struts on the front and shocks on the back needed front struts, I, or anyone with minimal automotive knowledge, would know what you meant!
As Stephen says, it most certainly does have a flywheel though it's not in the same form as that on a manual car, i.e. it's not designed to accept a clutch and is thinner and lighter. It's essential for the smooth running of the engine, and also carries the starter ring gear. It's sometimes called a flex plate.
Be very careful at that shop. Any auto shop that employs a guy that thinks autos don't have flywheels is a place I wouldn't take my car.
The 2nd guy is right. All cars have a flywheel.
well my car is electric so it doesn't even have pistons, let alone a flywheel. But your car might well have a flywheel, look for the clutch, that's usually mounted on a flywheel
Much like this question, you must specify make, model, year, engine and trans to get an accurate answer and end the confusion.
a manual trans has a flywheel and an automatic has a flex plate.
do not order the wrong part because they can be expensive to ship back and forth.
They will insist that you provide your vehicle information, unlike here where noone really gets a correct answer without it.
flywheel and flexplate are pretty much similar, but all cars have flywheels because the starter spins the flywheel momentarily to crank the engine to fire it up
all cars have flywheels ! the flywheel has teeth clean around it and the starter engages with the teeth and that is what cranks the engine !
automatics have a flywheel. manuals or 5 speeds have clutch plates
Cars and trucks with automatic transmissions have *flex-plates with a ring gear welded outside it. Ask any new car dealer!
Go on-line to see what a flex-plate looks like.
Yes
? ???? Hi from France ???? ? ?
Cars have wheels but they cant fly
the second shop should NOT do anymore mechanic work
